Within the past few decades, CGI has played a major role in the technological advancement of the film industry. From bringing dinosaurs back from the dead in Jurassic Park to vividly detailing the world of Pandora in the Avatar films, digital imagery has been responsible for some of the most memorable moments in recent cinematic history.
But just because something can be great doesn't mean that all uses of it are. While there are some extremely notable examples of amazing CGI in movies, there are far more examples of it being awful, especially within the action genre. These are the 10 action films with the worst CGI, ranked based on how unrealistic the effects look, and how detrimental the poor visuals are to the product as a whole.
10 'The Last Sharknado: It's About Time' (2018) Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante
The Sharknado series made a name for itself based on a number of attributes. Already starting with a completely absurd premise, the franchise got more and more over-the-top with each sequel, delighting its fans with cheesy dialogue, ridiculous kills, and some of the least believable CGI effects in the history of cinema. The Last Sharknado: It's About Time, the series' final entry, was no exception, treating viewers to its signature terrible effects, this time within the context of a time travel story that pits its protagonists against sharknadoes in various time periods.
The only thing keeping The Last Sharknado, and other movies like it, from placing higher up on this list is because the bad CGI is actually part of the appeal. The hokey effects add to the so-bad-it's-good nature of the series. If the CGI looked better, it would oddly make Sharknado a worse movie, because it would be even less enjoyable to watch than it already is without the comedic value of its cartoonishly bad visuals.
9 'Die Another Day' (2002) Directed by Lee Tamahori
The James Bond franchise has always been known for the over-the-top stunts that its titular British spy is shown pulling off, with highlights including hanging off the side of a moving helicopter, jumping across the heads of submerged crocodiles, and bungee jumping off the side of a dam. But the appeal behind many of those stunts lies behind the fact that they were performed by actual stuntpeople. As the use of CGI has become more commonplace over the years, the Bond series has adopted the technology to throw 007 into some truly ridiculous situations that stretch the suspension of disbelief to its limits, but few films in the series are quite as absurd as Die Another Day.
Die Another Day is widely viewed as one of the weakest films in the Bond franchise, and there's one particular CGI-laden stunt that is the perfect example of why. Late in the film, Bond (Pierce Brosnan) rides a snowmobile over the side of an ice cliff, which then collapses, causing an enormous, awful, CGI tidal wave to form, which 007 then rides using the door of the snowmobile and a parachute. It is an absolutely absurd sequence with completely unconvincing CGI that makes Bond feel more like a cartoon character than he ever did before. It's awful CGI, and a great example of why the technology shouldn't be overused.
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Die Another Day PG-13 ActionAdventureCrimeThriller
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*Availability in US Release Date November 22, 2002 Director Lee Tamahori Cast Pierce Brosnan , Halle Berry , Toby Stephens , Rosamund Pike , Rick Yune , judi dench Runtime 133 minutes Main Genre Action Writers Ian Fleming , Neal Purvis , Robert Wade Tagline Expand 8 'Fast X' (2023) Directed by Louis Leterrier
While 2001's The Fast and the Furious was a mostly grounded action film with a heavy emphasis on races and chases, each subsequent sequel has grown increasingly over-the-top, necessitating the use of more CGI. This has worked to varying degrees of success throughout the franchise's history, but it has undoubtedly reached the point of diminishing returns with the release of Fast X. The series' latest release is littered with absurd action sequences, like one where Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his "family" chase a wrecking ball-like bomb around the streets of Rome, but they're largely bogged down by the franchise's now completely unbelievable CGI.
Another especially bad CGI moment comes at Fast X's climax. When the film's villain, Dante (Jason Momoa), sends two oil trucks hurtling towards him on both sides of a dam, Toretto chooses to drive off the side, zooming vertically down the surface of the dam and somehow escaping the massive explosion behind him. The fact that the CGI is so obviously fake takes away from any sense of tension within the scene. This is a consistent issue throughout Fast X, making its overuse of digital effects a detriment overall.
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Fast X PG-13 CrimeMysteryThrillerRacing
Where to Watch stream rent buy *Availability in US Release Date May 19, 2023 Director Louis Leterrier Cast Vin Diesel , Michelle Rodriguez , Jason Statham , Jordana Brewster , Tyrese Gibson , Ludacris , Nathalie Emmanuel , Charlize Theron Runtime 141 Minutes Writers Justin Lin , Dan Mazeau , Gary Scott Thompson Main Genre Action Budget $340 Million Studio(s) Universal Pictures Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Sequel(s) Fast and Furious 11 , Fast & Furious 12 Prequel(s) The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The Fast And The Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Furious 7, Fast 5, Fast & Furious 6, F9: The Fast Saga1, Fast and Furious 8, Fast & Furious Franchise(s) Fast and Furious Expand 7 'Argylle' (2024) Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Starring Bryce Dallas Howard as a spy novelist who finds herself wrapped up in an actual conspiracy when Aidan Wilde, a real spy played by Sam Rockwell, rescues her from a group of attempted attackers on a train, Argylle was an action film that took place within the same cinematic universe as director Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman films. The film wound up being a failure both critically and financially, with some even viewing it as one of the worst movies of 2024. Whether one agrees with that assertion or not though, it's hard to deny that Argylle has some noticeably bad CGI effects.
The worst effect that Argylle has to offer frequently takes center stage; Elly's cat, Alfie. In most of the shots he's present in, Alfie is, understandably, a digital creation, but he is entirely unconvincing, taking any and all suspense out of the action sequences where viewers are supposed to be concerned about his well-being. He's not the film's only bad visual effect though, as nothing appears especially convincing, diluting the stakes and making the film feel even more cartoon-y than it was ever intended to.
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Argylle PG-13 ActionThrillerComedy
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*Availability in US Release Date February 2, 2024 Director Matthew Vaughn Cast Henry Cavill , Ariana DeBose , Sofia Boutella , Catherine O'Hara , Bryce Dallas Howard , John Cena , Dua Lipa , Samuel L. Jackson , Sam Rockwell , Bryan Cranston , Rob Delaney Runtime 139 Minutes Main Genre Action Writers Jason Fuchs Studio(s) Apple , Cloudy Productions , Marv Studios Distributor(s) Universal Pictures , Apple Expand 6 'The Mummy Returns' (2001) Directed by Stephen Sommers
The Mummy Returns, the sequel to 1999's The Mummy, is a great action adventure film featuring thrilling action sequences, an extremely charismatic lead performance from Brendan Fraser and some of the worst CGI in a major blockbuster film. The first movie has its fair share of outdated digital effects too, but the second film is even worse, featuring a heavier emphasis on cheesy-looking CGI threats, most notably Dwayne Johnson's Scorpion King.
The Scorpion King is the final threat that Rick O'Connell (Fraser) faces in Returns, but when he makes his first appearance, he's likely to get a chuckle out of the audience. He is an entirely CGI centaur-like fusion of Dwayne Johnson's upper-body and a scorpion's back-half that looks like he was ripped straight out of a video game, rather than being created for a big-budget Hollywood production. His facial expressions look awkward and unnatural, and it never truly feels like the giant CGI creation is in the same environment as Fraser. Other effects throughout the film are also bad, but the Scorpion King is one of the worst CGI effects in any action movie ever.
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The Mummy Returns PG-13 AdventureThrillerActionFantasy
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*Availability in US Release Date May 4, 2001 Director Stephen Sommers Cast Arnold Vosloo , John Hannah , Brendan Fraser , Oded Fehr , Rachel Weisz Runtime 130 minutes Writers Stephen Sommers Studio(s) Universal Pictures Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Tagline Budget $98 million Sequel(s) The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Prequel(s) The Mummy Franchise(s) The Mummy Expand 5 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones' (2002) Directed by George Lucas
The Star Wars prequel trilogy has been widely discussed online for a number of reasons, but perhaps the most prominent is its overreliance on CGI. However, while The Phantom Menace utilized at least a few practical sets and props, including a Yoda (Frank Oz) puppet, Attack of the Clones went all in on its usage of digital imagery, utilizing almost entirely digitally animated environments for scenes and an even higher concentration of CGI characters than its predecessor.
Unfortunately, while the technology would be far more convincing by the release of 2005's Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones suffers due to its place in history. Many of the digital creations on display look overwhelmingly cartoon-y, destroying the immersion of its viewers and any potential tension in any of the action sequences. Everything created using CGI also has a noticeable clean and pristine look, making the creatures and environments feel even less real. George Lucas' approach to crafting Attack of the Clones was, in many ways, ahead of its time, but the technology simply wasn't there yet to effectively pull off his vision, resulting in the creation of an overall weaker film.
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Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones PG ActionAdventure Sci-FiFantasy
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*Availability in US Release Date May 16, 2002 Director George Lucas Cast Ewan McGregor , Hayden Christensen , Natalie Portman , Ian McDiarmid , Samuel L. Jackson , Christopher Lee , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Frank Oz , Temuera Morrison , Ahmed Best , Daniel Logan Runtime 142 Minutes Writers George Lucas , Jonathan Hales Tagline Budget $115 Million Studio(s) Lucasfilm Distributor(s) 20th Century Sequel(s) Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith , Solo: A Star Wars Story , Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope , Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back , Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi , Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens , Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi , Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker Prequel(s) Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Franchise(s) Star Wars Expand 4 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' (2023) Directed by Peyton Reed
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe has explored increasingly outlandish settings and characters, it has also become ever more reliant upon CGI in order to bring its stories to life. Films like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 have proven that this approach to filmmaking can work, but many of Marvel's releases have lacked the high-quality CGI necessary to create a truly immersive world. Perhaps the worst example is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a film which took the typically small-scale, Earth-based action of the Ant-Man franchise to the Quantum Realm, a microscopic dimension filled with otherworldly visuals.
Unfortunately, because of the poor quality of the digital imagery in the film, Quantumania's visuals are more likely to inspire laughter than awe. Human characters rarely look like they're actually occupying the space they're supposed to be in, and the visual effects used to create characters like Corey Stoll's M.O.D.O.K. look underbaked, especially when compared to previous MCU triumphs like Thanos (Josh Brolin). Had the film been in post-production for a longer period of time, allowing its animators to further refine their work, there's a chance that Quantumania could be quite a visual spectacle, but as it stands, it's just another example of a movie that got far too ambitious for its own good.
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Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania PG-13 ActionAdventureComedy
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*Availability in US Release Date February 17, 2023 Director Peyton Reed Cast Michael Douglas , Jonathan Majors , Paul Rudd , Michelle Pfeiffer , Michael Pena , Evangeline Lilly , Kathryn Newton , Randall Park , Bill Murray Runtime 135 minutes Writers jeff loveness Tagline Website Franchise Characters By Prequel Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp Cinematographer Producer Production Company Sfx Supervisor Budget 200 million Studio(s) Disney Distributor(s) Disney Sequel(s) Ant-Man and the Wasp Prequel(s) Ant-Man Franchise(s) Ant-Man , Marvel Cinematic Universe Where To Stream Dis Expand 3 'Justice League' (2017) Directed by Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon
Justice League was intended to be a major event film for the DC Extended Universe, bringing together Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), all of whom had received major focus in previous films, along with Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), who received far more of a spotlight than they had in their prior brief appearances. Instead, the movie wound up being a box office disappointment, ending its theatrical run as the lowest-earning DCEU film released up to that point.
Luckily, those who didn't see Justice League weren't missing much. The plot isn't particularly interesting, the dialogue is often cringe-inducing and the film features some of the worst CGI effects in a modern blockbuster. Its third act is especially egregious, forcing viewers to suffer through a final battle where the titular team of superheroes fights hordes of creatures that look straight out of a video game, all in front of some of the least convincing CGI backdrops of all time. Also notable is the CGI covering Henry Cavill's mustache. The actor was midway through filming Mission: Impossible - Fallout when reshoots occurred for Justice League, forcing the effects team to remove his mustache in post-production. It's a truly terrible visual effect that is incredibly distracting in every scene it's present in. There honestly isn't a single scene containing even halfway decent CGI in Justice League.
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Justice League PG-13 AdventureActionFantasy
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*Availability in US Release Date November 17, 2017 Director Zack Snyder Cast Jeremy Irons , Gal Gadot , Amy Adams , Jesse Eisenberg , Ciarán Hinds , Ben Affleck , Henry Cavill , Ezra Miller , J. K. Simmons , Jason Momoa , Ray Fisher Runtime 242 minutes Writers Chris Terrio , Joss Whedon Studio Tagline Franchise DCEU Characters By Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, DC Comics Prequel Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Cinematographer Fabian Wagner Producer Chris Terrio, Christopher Nolan, Ben Affleck, Wesley Coller, Curtis Kanemoto, Charles Roven, Jim Rowe, Deborah Snyder, Emma Thomas Production Company DC Films, Warner Bros. Pictures, The Stone Quarry, Atlas Entertainment Expand 2 'The Flash' (2023) Directed by Andy Muschietti
After the disappointing release of Justice League, the DCEU never fully recovered. The following film, Aquaman, was a major hit that, oddly enough, proved to be the cinematic universe's highest-grossing entry, but later releases failed to make an impact at the box office. The Flash was a particularly high-profile flop within the DCEU's canon, intended to revive interest in the franchise by reacquainting audiences with Michael Keaton's Batman, but instead falling flat on its face due to issues involving lead Ezra Miller, on top of fading interest in DC's films.
But one of the worst aspects of The Flash is its CGI. Throughout its runtime, the film features bizarre, alien-looking babies, cheesy effects meant to highlight its titular hero's (Miller) speed, and, worst of all, a sequence containing a number of awful CGI cameos from DC's history, including Christopher Reeve's Superman and Nicolas Cage's never-before-seen interpretation of the same character. None of the visual effects in the film manage to be even slightly convincing, and many of them add a thick layer of unintentional humor where it absolutely wouldn't have been present had the studio placed more importance on creating decent visuals. Instead, The Flash is likely to always be remembered as a box office bomb with terrible CGI.
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The Flash PG-13 SuperheroActionFantasy
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*Availability in US Release Date June 16, 2023 Director Andres Muschietti Cast Ezra Miller , Michael Keaton , Ben Affleck , Sasha Calle , Michael Shannon Runtime 2 hours 24 minutes Writers Christina Hodson , Joby Harold Studio Franchise Budget 200 million Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures , DC Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Franchise(s) DC Extended Universe Expand 1 'Expend4bles' (2023) Directed by Scott Waugh
Expend4bles is somewhat of a black sheep within its franchise. While previous films in the franchise had focused on stuffing as many classic action stars together as possible, including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li and Jason Statham, the series' fourth entry dropped many of its most iconic leads while introducing less notable stars like Megan Fox and 50 Cent to the cast. Statham was one of the few major stars to return in a prominent role, with his character, Lee Christmas, attempting to track down the apparent killers of Stallone's Barney Ross. Along the way, Christmas finds himself tangled up in a number of big action set pieces, each with worse CGI effects than the last.
There honestly isn't a lot to say about exactly how bad the CGI looks in Expend4bles. Digital imagery is typically used where it is wholly unnecessary, resulting in many flashy moments being undercut by cheesy effects that look completely out-of-place. Everything in the film looks exceedingly fake, sucking the thrill out of each and every action sequence, and ultimately leaving behind one of the most dull and uninspired action films ever made.
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Expend4bles ThrillerActionAdventure
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*Availability in US Release Date September 22, 2023 Director Scott Waugh Cast Dolph Lundgren , Randy Couture , Eddie Hall , Sylvester Stallone , Levy Tran , Iko Uwais , tony jaa , Sheila Shah , Jacob Scipio , Jason Statham , Andy Garcia , Megan Fox , 50 Cent Runtime 103 Minutes Writers Spenser Cohen , John Joseph Connolly , Max Adams Budget $100 million Studio(s) Millennium Media , Campbell Grobman Films Distributor(s) Lionsgate Prequel(s) The Expendables 2, The Expendables 3, The Expendables Franchise(s) The Expendables Expand
NEXT: The 10 Worst CGI Movie Moments of All Time, Ranked